What Love Isn't
by Trillian
Summary: Who does Inuyasha love? How can he figure that out if he doesn't even know what love is? He's going to find out, though, or at least he'll find out what love isn't. Rated for some language.
1. Here We Go Again

Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha or any of his cohorts. Or Hearst Castle or anything else of worth. So, really, suing me wouldn't make much sense, now would it?  
  
Darling readers: I have not forgotten or abandoned "A Hanyou's ToDo List," or "The Day After Happily Ever After" either for that matter (Not an IY story, so don't worry if you haven't heard of it). I just CANNOT FIND THE #$*&@$ disc I saved them on. Anyway, hope you enjoy this one. It'll probably be a fairly short one ~ maybe 4-5 chapters. IY/Kag, and enough fluff to rot your teeth and cause extreme nausea. You have been warned.  
  
  
  
What Love Isn't  
  
"This is my mom, and Jii-san, and that's my little brother, Sota." Kagome pointed to a photograph in her album as Shippo looked on from his perch on her shoulder. "You two would get along great, Shippo! He loves to run and kick soccer balls and climb trees. And..." she paused, poking his tummy gently with her finger, "he also loves sweets!"  
  
Shippo, his little face dappled with chocolate smears, giggled from the assault and hopped down into her lap to point to a picture. In it, Kagome and three other dark haired girls all mugged for the camera and held their fingers out in a V. "You're the prettiest of all them, Kagome! Who are they?"  
  
"Hmmm. I must agree. Your friends certainly are lovely, but you are most assuredly the loveliest, Lady Kagome." Miroku, who was sitting on Kagome's right, seconded the opinion of the kit before helping himself to a stick of Pocky that Kagome brought to share. Sango, already munching on a piece herself, made it unanimous with several nods of her dark head and an, "Mmm- hmm."  
  
Kagome blushed at the compliments of her friends, but answered them by pointing to each girl and pronouncing their names, "This is Ayume, and this is Yuka, and this is Eri. I've known them since I was even younger than Shippo. In my time, they're my best friends."  
  
It was a divine, uneventful evening; the skies painted with great swathes of brilliant gold, orange, red and cobalt blue, and a warm breeze drifted through the village. The small group was currently staying in Kaede's village, and had chosen to spend the tranquil evening outside, enjoying the calm and the pleasant weather. They knew all too well that moments like that were few and far between, and should be savored and enjoyed.  
  
Absent from the group was Kaede, who, having served a delicious, (though as noted by one member of the party, Ramen-free) evening meal, was now making rounds to tend to the ailing of the village. And Inuyasha, who had retreated to the treetops to brood over some thoughts that weighted heavily on his mind.  
  
The jewel shards and nearly all been collected, and thanks to Kikyo, most of them were now in the possession of Naraku. Every day, he seemed to gain power, and while he didn't attack personally, his demons were becoming more and more difficult to defeat. So far, they had managed to kill his minions, or at least survive and drive away their attacks, but the time was quickly approaching that they would come fact to face with the demon that was Naraku either defeat him and complete the Shikon Jewel, or would join the thousands of others who had lost their lives to him. That COULD NOT happen. There was too much at stake.  
  
And her...what to do about her... All logic and common sense said that they would defeat Naraku, complete the jewel... And then she would go back to her time and get on with her life in the modern word with its conveniences, it's huge buildings, it's giant steel monsters that transported people from place to place. And that other guy...that Ho...Hobo? Hoto? Homo? As far away from him as she could get, if not in space, in time. This train of thought always caused him extreme physical pain, though. Just the idea of her not being near, of never seeing her smile again, of her scent being far away, or worse, tinged with the odor of another male ~ it made his entire body ache with dread, fury, anxiety. Every night as he watched her sleep, he had these same laments, and he would resolve to get her alone and make her understand his feelings for her. Over and over he would rehearse his speech in his head as they traveled from place to place. Finally, he would manage to get a few moments alone with her, as they set up camp or gathered firewood. He would clear his throat to get her attention and...  
  
Completely lose his nerve. And say something stupid. And get sat. A lot!  
  
If only she knew what he had really meant to say... that he loved her, needed her, would rather be sealed to the tree again than live without her. But what if she did? What if she rejected him? What if she didn't return his love, or didn't want to bother with a relationship that would involve so many complications? The unknown preserved hope ~ undeclared feelings held the possibility that she might return them. But if he told her and she refused him, it would be final and he wouldn't be able to take it back. Hope would vanish, and be replaced with hopelessness.  
  
And then there was Kikyo... Always there was Kikyo....  
  
As he ruminated, the words of his companions drifted up to his ears, but he only half heard them. He registered that Miroku, the pervert monk, had made some comment about lovely women in Kagome's "Footoo al-boom," but that was nothing unusual. When was he not ogling some unsuspecting woman?" Then Kagome's voice lilted on the breeze, "...they're my best friends...."  
  
'Wait? Did she say ...her best friends? BEST friends?!????' He felt an instant stab of pain ... jealousy toward some girls he had never met. In a life that she lived without him. In a place he didn't belong. 'Keh! When was the last time they threw themselves in front of some slavering demon to save her butt? Or carried her on their backs, or hauled around that ridiculously heavy pack of hers?' he fumed. 'Or called her bitch, or useless, or pathetic? Or left her to go chase off some shadow of a first love?' added that annoying little voice in the back of his conscience. "Shut up!" he bellowed to the voice, frustrated not only that it was right, but that he couldn't beat the hell out of it.  
  
  
  
He was still brooding the next morning, making him even more bad tempered than usual. "Look, Bitch! You ain't going, and that's final! You've got a job to do here!"  
  
Sighing wearily, "Inuyasha, do we really have to do this every time I have to go home? I have to study for finals, and I have a project due on Monday. A project, I might add, that I should have been working on for a month now, but have very little done because I have been here with you!" Kagome was, as per usual, trying to get around the stubborn hanyou who blocked her path so she could get through the portal back to her time. She really didn't want to make him kiss the ground AGAIN to do it, but he usually left her little choice.  
  
"Look, Wench, we don't have time for you to go traipsing 'back to the future' when we have to get those shards." (Inuyasha never said "back home" anymore. Home was somewhere you belonged, and to his way of thinking, her home was there, with him.) "We have to get them before Naraku does, remember?" He spoke the last part very slowly, as if she were a child who was too simple to understand anything more complicated than naptime  
  
Kagome stood with her hands on her hips, right eyebrow raised, looking hard at him. "I haven't heard any rumors of any shards anywhere lately, have you? We've been sitting around for three days now, and there has been nothing that I know of happening. Do you know something I don't?"  
  
"We...well, no, not as such! But if we do hear something, we have to act fast! And how are we supposed to do that if your weak, useless human butt isn't here? How are we supposed to find the shards then, huh?" He was on a rant now. Not thinking about what he was saying ~ just blurting out anything to keep from yelling that he hated it when she was gone. That it left him feeling lonely and empty, and anxious for her safety. That he was scared to death that that damned well might stop working someday, and she wouldn't be able to get back to him. "Where is your miko sense of duty? Kikyo would never..."  
  
Oops! He clamped his mouth shut when he realized what he was about to say, but of course it was too late. He knew he'd be getting intimate with the dirt at any moment, but what was much worse was having to witness the myriad of expressions that crossed Kagome's pretty features in the space of a few seconds: hurt, anger, and finally sadness.  
  
The sadness remained when she finally spoke, but her voice was calm. Much too calm. "And as we know, I'm not Kikyo. Just a weak, useless copy. But luckily, the original is available. After you've picked yourself up off the ground, you can go find her. I'm sure she's not too far away."  
  
"Kagome... I didn't mean..."  
  
A single tear slid down the young girl's cheek. "Sit!"  
  
With that, she stepped around his prone, slightly buried figure and vaulted into the well.  
  



	2. What Love Isn't

Disclaimer: You're kidding, right? If I owned Inuyasha, would I be wasting my time doing this? Hmmm?  
  
Sorry so long, etc. I know you all didn't open this page to listen to me grovel or apologize. A quick thank you to all those wonderful peeps that took the time to leave me a review! Maybe I will reward my reviewers at the end of the story by e-mailing them the last chappie a week before I post it, or something like that. Hehehe! That would be fun, huh?  
  
Ok, ok, I'll shut up. On with the story.  
  
  
  
WHAT LOVE ISN'T  
  
Kagome climbed out of the well in the wellhouse of her family shrine, hoisting her supply depleted but still heavy pack over the side before her and hearing it drop heavily to the ground with a thud. Next came a leg toned by exercise and tanned by constant exposure to the sun, and then the girl herself. What was once an exhausting task was now second nature to her, and she did it without thought. She couldn't leap out of the well like Inuyasha, but then again, neither could he when he was in human form.  
  
Inuyasha......... what a jerk! Three years they had been traveling together, finding jewel shards, fighting off demons and Naraku's incarnations, and still he couldn't get it through his thick skull that she had a life back home that she OCCASIONALLY had to attend to. After all, they were pretty sure that most if not all of the jewel shards were collected and in the possession of themselves, Naraku, and Koga who still had his two fragments imbedded in his legs. According to him, she was pretty useless for anything but detecting shards, and he was always having to "save her sorry butt," so why did he even care? According to him, it would be easier for him if she wasn't around! But every time she tried to go home for a few days, he did everything he could think of to stop her, from physically barring her path to goading her about her inferiority to Kikyo.  
  
Kikyo. The bane of her existence. Kikyo was this, Kikyo was that......... Kikyo was an expert archer; Kikyo was elegant, beautiful, graceful; Kikyo was a powerful miko......... Kikyo had a fast grip on the heart of Inuyasha that just wouldn't let go.  
  
Kagome often thought she should have just left when Kikyo was.........what? Reincarnated? Reanimated? What do you call a walking figure made of ashes and clay in the likeness of someone long dead, which holds her appearance and memories, but not her soul? But from what Kagome had been told, the living Kikyo had been kind, and dutiful. This wandering corpse was neither. She was angry and invidious; hell bound, and determined to take Inuyasha with her. And yet he still loved her, worshipped her. Treated her kindly and swore his allegiance to her. Breathed her name as if it were a prayer.  
  
While Kagome, who cared for him, tended to him, put up with all his bad tempered fits, was always there when he needed her......... SHE was treated with contempt and intolerance. She was a "stupid bitch," or "Wench," or a "weak, useless human." So why, why, why did she care so much for him? Why did she love him so very dearly?  
  
Because he protected her, took care of her, guarded her life. Because even if his words said otherwise, his eyes and actions betrayed a kind and caring heart. Because even though he could be a serious jerk, every now and again he let her see a glimpse of a softer, more caring side of his nature. Because he was constantly putting himself in harm's way to protect her and their friends from danger. Because he was brave, courageous, and let's face it ~ really hot.  
  
But no! She couldn't soften now. She always did that. He would be a jerk, and she would soften and feel bad for their arguments and go back anyway. Maybe her always forgiving him was the trouble with their relationship. After all, Kikyo was a vindictive bitch to him, and he treated her like a queen. But then, she also had something above Kagome that Kagome just couldn't compete with, and that Inuyasha couldn't seem to get past. Kikyo was dead.  
  
Kagome looked around her to find herself in her own bedroom. She had been so busy with her mental tirade that she couldn't even remember going there, but here she was. Sighing heavily, she dumped her oversized yellow travel- abused bag onto the bed and began to search inside for her textbooks.  
  
Several minutes later, she had upended the bag onto the bed and emptied the contents only to find that she had, in fact, left her math book in the Feudal Era. And since she had a major calculus test to study for, she was going to have to go back and get it.  
  
Crossly, she descended the stairs and strode through the kitchen where her brother was sitting at the table in front of a glass of milk and a plate of freshly baked cookies. He had his math book open, and was working some problems in long division with the occasional help from their perpetually cheerful mother.  
  
Sota looked up from his studies, "Hi, Sis! Mom made cookies; the kind with chocolate chunks! Want one?"  
  
"Sure, thanks. I have to go back real quick because I left my math book. I'll take an extra one for Shippo."  
  
"Honey, are you ok? You seemed really preoccupied when you walked into the house." Kagome's mom embraced her.  
  
"I'm ok, Mom. Just the same old thing. I needed to come home, and Inuyasha didn't want me to."  
  
"Sweetheart, I'm sure it's only because he misses you when you're gone."  
  
"Thanks, Mom, I don't think so. I'm just the only one who can sense the jewel shards. In his opinion, that's all I'm good for."  
  
Mrs. Higurashi would have protested further, but by that time, Kagome had vanished out the door.  
  
************************************  
  
"YOU JERK!" Shippo yelled from on top of Inuyasha's head, yanking on his ears for emphasis. "You made Kagome sad again! I can smell her tears."  
  
"Get off me, RUNT!" Inuyasha took a furious swipe at his tormenter and flung him from his head off into the distance.  
  
"Judging by the depth of the hole you left and the expression on your face, I'd say you compared her to Kikyo again, didn't you?" Miroku stepped out from the grove of bushes behind them.  
  
"Keh! You liar! You were spying again!"  
  
"I prefer to call it supervising. And you need all the supervising you can get." The monk sighed, "I don't know why I keep telling you this, because it never seems to get through your thick skull, but she might not leave so often if you were nicer to her."  
  
"I'm nice!" the hanyou hated being scolded over something he was already beating himself up over.  
  
"Oh, comparing her to Kikyo is nice? Yelling at her is nice? Calling her rude names and telling her she's worthless is nice?"  
  
"Keh!" Inuyasha folded his arms and looked away.  
  
"Why don't you just tell her the real reason you don't want her to go? Admit to her that you love her and that you hate it when she's not near. It would work much better, believe me!"  
  
"Hey! Who said I ............ I do not! I mean........."  
  
Inuyasha was still sputtering futile denials when the sound of a soft voice broke in. It was tinged with sadness, but clear and calm. "Don't be absurd Miroku. You're very sweet for trying to support me, but you're wrong. And no matter how much you want it to be true, you can't force Inuyasha to feel what he doesn't feel." Kagome looked from one to the other's startled expressions, both wondering what she was doing back there so soon. Ignoring their stares, she continued on, "I'm sure Inuyasha feels some responsibility for my safety, and so is anxious when I go home where he can't protect me. After all, I can sense the shards, so he needs me. Or rather, he needs my ability so he can get what he wants. But you can't mistake that for love. I've learned that the hard way." She looked away and blinked rapidly to stall the tears invariably pooling in her eyes. She would not give him the satisfaction of calling her weak. "Love isn't cruel or mean or disparaging. It doesn't demean you or constantly compare you unfavorably to someone else or make you feel weak and inferior or useless and ugly. And it doesn't make you feel like a tool to be exploited and then disposed of when your usefulness is no longer needed or desired. Love doesn't leave you wondering why you bother taking your next breath when another could do everything so much better than you can."  
  
She paused again when she felt her voice begin to quaver; a sure sign that it was about to crack. Having once read that looking up would stop tears, and turned her gaze skyward. Waiting till her voice steadied, she finally continued, "You see, I'm lucky. I've had lots of love in my life. My Mom and brother and Jii-san love me. My friends and Hojo love me. Shippo and my sweet sister, Sango love me. Even you, Miroku, in your own perverted way, at least make me feel worth looking at and groping." Seeing Miroku's leer as he edged his way toward her she added hotly, "THAT WAS NOT AN INVITATION!"  
  
"Just trying to help!" muttered the monk, who would probably have received serious physical punishment from an angry hanyou if said half-demon hadn't been too busy being stung by Kagome's speech.  
  
"Kag...gome..." Inuyasha tried to speak.  
  
Kagome shot an injured glare in his direction, "Save it, Inuyasha. Don't make it worse. You said enough earlier! Honestly, I don't know why I am needed here anyway. Most likely all the shards have been gathered, and even if we don't have them, we know where they are." She was tempted to add that thanks to his beloved Kikyo, the majority of the shards were in the possession of the very one they needed to defeat, but decided to skip it. He knew. What was the point? "You wouldn't want my sorry, useless butt around to be in the way or have to worry about saving when Naraku attacks anyway, right?"  
  
"Kagome, no-o-oo! I mean, yes! I mean..." Inuyasha tried again. Damn his . . . what? Lack of . . . was it vocabulary? Or ability to put the right words together? Why could he never just come out and say what he wanted to say to this girl? No one else seemed to affect him like that. . . except maybe Kikyo. But he knew what he wanted to say to Kikyo; his deep-seated guilt just wouldn't let him say it.  
  
Kagome sighed. "Skip it. I have to get my math book at Kaede's hut."  
  
Inuyasha felt a small wave of relief when she said that. That bought him a little time. She might cool down a little while she walked to the hut. And Kaede was probably cooking something good for the evening meal, and would probably get the miko to stay to eat. By the time she was ready to leave again, maybe Inuyasha would have found th right words to apologize and keep her from being so angry with him that she never wanted to come back.  
  
But just then, as his luck would have it, a small furry flying missile launched itself at Kagome's neck, "Kagomaaaaaay! I was just bringing this to Inuyasha so he could take it to you. Kaede said it was probably something you would need." And sure enough, clutched in his tiny paws was Introduction to Calculus.  
  
Trying to hide the tears from the little kit, she smiled gently," Thanks, Shippo! That was very thoughtful of you." She presented him with the cookie she had brought for him.  
  
His face lit momentarily at the treat, but quickly darkened when he smelled his beloved Kagome's tears. "What's wrong Kagome? Was Inuyasha being a jerk again? I'll take car of him for you! I'll stick him to the ground and leave him there while it rains!"  
  
Kagome smiled at the thought, but said, "No, thank you Shippo. I just had something in my eye. I'm fine." Looking up, along with the others, she noticed that the sky did indeed look ominous. "I guess I'd better get going so I can study, and you all had better get inside." She quickly hugged Shippo, and whispered, "You be good, ok?" before setting him gently on the rim of the well.  
  
Before anyone could say anything more, she was gone. 


	3. The Price of Hesitation

Disclaimer: Still, after all this time, don't own 'em. I do, however, own this story and it's plot, so plagiarizers ~ get lost! Arrogant, I know, but I don't want it to happen again.  
  
Ok, a few things that need to be said: First, thank you from the bottom of my heart to all my readers who expressed their outrage at the plagiarizing of my fic Dance of Life on animespiral.com. The fic has finally been removed, but I'm not sure if it was by the administrators or by the author. She still has an account there.  
  
Next, I got a review from Angel Expultion, pointing out some confusion in my last chapter, for which I am very grateful. I have corrected the problem, and made a few revisions as well. So, if you haven't read that chapter for awhile, you might want to do so.  
  
Lastly, thank you to each and every one who takes the time to review. You may not know it, but reviews inspire us to want to write more. More reviews mean sooner updates. Few reviews mean a depressed, unmotivated author. Just the facts of life. I say this not so much as a plea for more reviews for myself, as I hardly have anything to complain about (though, of course I do love getting them), but for other authors who get very few. Even if you don't like what they've written, you can probably find something postitive to say, and maybe make a helpful suggestion.  
  
Ok, off my soapbox. On with the chapter.  
  
What Love Isn't Chapter 3  
  
The Price of Hesitation  
  
"You jerk! I hate you! You made her go away, and now she's never coming back!" Tears of anguish and rage began to pour down the little kitsune's face, his small body trembling and fists knotted in fury.  
  
The hanyou folded his arms into the sleeves of his haori, and turned his back to the enraged little demon. "Keh, don't be stupid! She'll be back! She always comes back." Inuyasha said with far more certainty than he felt. He turned a worried glance back at the well, fear that the kit was right hitting him fully, and he was now fighting the overwhelming urge to retch. He had smelled her scent ~one of anger and despair. One that said that she had, indeed, finally been pushed too far. He muttered, "I didn't mean what I said. I was just trying to make her stay. So we could find the ..."  
  
He didn't bother to finish. He couldn't even convince himself with that one, and he could tell by the look on the monk's face that he wasn't fooled either.  
  
Instead, he commented in his usual placid manner, though there was a definite tinge of pain and loss for his friend there as well, "I have always feared that Lady Kagome would one day decide she'd had enough of being compared to Kikyo-sama. I had hoped that her leaving would not be such a heartbreaking one, though." He shot a disapproving glance toward Inuyasha, who was still standing in the same position, as if waiting for the young miko to reappear.  
  
Shippo, who's devastation was still building along with his anger, finally snapped. He flung himself at Inuyasha's head and began to pound on it. "GO GET HER, YOU JERK!"  
  
"Keh! Get off me brat." Inuyasha ejaculated, though with much less conviction than usual, and he made no move to remove the angry little demon. "Anyway, who said she won't come back? She'll cool down. She always does."  
  
"NO SHE WON'T! SHE CAN'T!" Finally unclenching his little fist, he unfurled his tiny fingers to reveal resting on his palm; the fused fragments of the Shikon Jewel that Kagome had carried with her. It lay; looking innocent enough, sunlight gleaming of it's fragmented surfaces.  
  
Inuyasha went instantly pale. He felt his head go light and his extraordinary demon balance suddenly leave him, as he sank to his knees. 'NO! She can't have left me for good. She promised to be by my side forever. She promised never to leave me.'  
  
Miroku, taking the fused fragments from the kit's hand, said slowly, "Well, luckily for us she left in such a hurry that she forgot to remove your rosary, Inuyasha. But I wouldn't go for her just yet. She was very angry, and she probably needs a little time to cool down. Otherwise, I predict a very broken back in your near future."  
  
"It'd be worth it. I deserve it." The hanyou muttered, before snapping his head up to see two very startled pairs of eyes staring at him. It was very true, and they were pretty sure their friend knew it, but they never expected him to admit it. 'Oh, shit! Did I say that out loud?'  
  
Miroku recovered his surprise and advised, "Perhaps. But she deserves a little time to breath and settle down. In the meantime, I suggest you come up with some token of your remorse."  
  
"Eh?"  
  
The houshi sighed, "A gift of some sort. Something pretty. Flowers, jewelry, something like that. If you're holding out a gift, she's less likely to "sit" you, at least until you've given it to her. It'll buy you some time."  
  
"Oh." It seemed like a good idea. In any case, as much as he wanted to make up with Kagome, he wasn't anxious to face her just yet. Her ire he could deal with; it was the hurt and betrayal he had seen in her eyes was what was killing him. "Ok, let's go find something. I imagine you're a pro at this."  
  
The monk chuckled lightly, "You have no idea!"  
  
Stealing one last concerned glance at the well, the hanyou followed after his friend. "Are you coming runt?"  
  
"NO! I HATE YOU! And I'm staying here till you go get Kagome!" He curled his little body up on the lip of the well, tightly clutching the cookie Kagome had given him in his little arms, sobbing to himself quietly. Finally, exhaustion brought on by his emotional tirade put him into a deep sleep, with dreams of sleeping curled up next to Kagome on her sleeping bag.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Out of the same grove of bushes that Miroku had earlier emerged stepped a somber-faced miko, surrounded by several ethereal, flying eel-like creatures. She wore the traditional costume of a village priestess, and her long, obsidian hair was kept back from obscuring her face and lifeless eyes by a thin white tie. That visage held no expression, save for a small upturn of the corners of her mouth, indicating pleasure at the scene she had just witnessed.  
  
'Finally, I can rid myself of that nuisance for good, and he won't know to blame it on me. I won't even have to kill her ~ I can just make sure she never returns."  
  
She lifted the sleeping kit off the lip of the well, carefully so not to wake him, and set him in the grass at the edge of the clearing. Then, turning her attention back to the portal, she lifted a seemingly careless hand in its direction, and sealed it, placing a demon ward on it for good measure.  
  
With a small backward smirk, she turned and floated off with her minions to await the outcome of her handiwork. Then she could put her plans in motion. 


	4. Fate Strikes Back

Disclaimer: I don't own Fate either. Which is probably best for the rest of the world.  
  
Fate is a funny thing. It is stubborn, it enjoys irony, it loves to prove people wrong; especially the ones who use absolutes like "never" and "always." It can be kind and it can be cruel, depending on circumstances and on those beings it is dealing with.  
  
It is also proud and hates to be messed with. Most of all, it hates being pushed around, and being manipulated by arrogant undead mikos who seem to think they could do Fate's job better than it could are, in it's opinion, the worst. In fact, the particular miko in question had been brought back from the dead while Fate's attention was directed elsewhere, but it decided to let it slide, because her "rebirth" appealed to it's sense of the absurd.  
  
But now. . . now this "woman" had gone too far. She had gone and tried to screw up something Fate had no intention allowing her to interfere with. Fate and Time had had an argument over who had more power to control destinies, and this portal was Fate's way of telling Time, "In your face, Brother!" The fact that the two beings it manipulated along with this little demonstration did, indeed, belong together and that Fate had grown quite fond of the pair (or was at least, especially entertained by them), only made it's resolve firmer.  
  
So, as the undead priestess waved a haughty, dismissive gesture at Fate's treasured portal, Fate merely gave her a raspberry, so to speak. The well did, in fact seal and fill with the remains of countless demons once again. The portal, however, jumped neatly away from her powerful spell, and replaced itself squarely into the nearby ancient tree ~ the Goshinboku.  
  
"Talk about irony," Fate smirked to itself, before making off to attend to it's other concerns.  
  
Fate also has a truly bizarre sense of humour. 


	5. Extreem Well Diving

Disclaimer: Nope, not yet. I'll keep trying, though!  
  
Ok, when I last updated this story I posted two chapters one after another. I think several people missed Chapter 4, because I posted it so quickly after chapter 3. I mention this, because it is VERY important to the plot, and much of it won't make sense if you don't read it. So, run along! Go back and read it. Please. It might not make complete sense, but it will. And as I said, it is very integral to the plot.  
  
Ok, I'll stop yammering. On with the story!  
  
*******************************************************  
  
Chapter 5  
  
What Love Isn't  
  
A few hours later, Inuyasha stepped back out into the clearing with a large bouquet of fragrant, vividly colored flowers clutched tightly in one hand. He had finally decided on flowers as a groveling gift for Kagome because they were beautiful and fresh, and reminded him of her. That, and by giving her something he could pick himself, he wouldn't own Miroku anything. He'd learned over the years that being beholden to the lecherous monk could be at best annoying and costly, and at worst, deadly.  
  
Peering around to see that the coast was clear, his eyes hit upon a site that brought a sudden chill up his spine. Lying nestled among a patch of grass, still tightly clutching the last thing Kagome had given him (save for the jewel shards), was the fitfully sleeping kitsune. But it wasn't that familiarity that shook Inuyasha to the core. No, it was the fact that at first sight, he would have sworn that he was seeing a shadow of his own past. If the little fox demon had had white hair and red clothing.......... Memories of the day his own mother had died came flooding back, as he recalled running as far has his legs would carry him before his little body gave in to exhaustion, curling around himself in a similar patch of grass, and crying himself to sleep. He remembered clearly the feeling of loss and absolute isolation ~ of knowing that there wasn't a soul in the world who would want to take him in and care for him. Noone wanted a freak half- breed.  
  
No one. Not even Kikyo. Even her love was conditional on him giving up half of himself to become a human.  
  
No one until Kagome.  
  
He hadn't realized where he was going until he found himself crouched in the grass, idly scratching Shippo's little head. He gazed at him, remembering the absolute fear and despair he had seen in the child's countenance as he yelled at him to go retrieve the woman he had adopted as his new "mommy." Softly he said, "Believe me kid, I know how you feel. I can't lose her either." Giving him one more scratch, he added, "Don't worry ~ I'll bring her back. I'll do whatever it takes, and I will bring her back."  
  
He said this with more confidence than he felt. Something just didn't feel right ~ approaching the well, he could sense it. He stopped and frowned at the dry well that had been responsible for so many changes in his life. Because of that well, he actually had a life again. And yet, something was different. Something that was making the hairs on the back of his neck stand up.  
  
"Keh!" he shook the premonition off. "You just don't want to be sat down to the earth's core!" With that thought, he took one long leap for the lip of the portal......... and ended 5 meters back and flat on his butt.  
  
" What the........." He sat and gaped momentarily at the old wooden structure. "How the hell?!?" Getting back to his feet, he tried again.  
  
And ended up landing in the exact spot he had just occupied, again on his butt.  
  
Among his many strengths, Inuyasha could not count patience. By the time he had taken aim at the well 5 times, his shouting could be heard throughout the forest. His once lovely, but now somewhat disheveled bouquet had been violently flung aside in the tirade. By the time he had tried his approach from every conceivable angle, including dropping down from a very high tree branch, only to once again be bounced onto his hind quarters, he was well into livid mode, and ready to hurt something. At this point, being one to act first and ask questions later, he probably would have taken it out on the innocuous weathered wood surrounding the portal that he had become so dependent on. So it was probably best that he couldn't anywhere near it.  
  
At least his volatile temper had proved to be somewhat productive in that it brought Miroku, Sango, Kirara, and Kaede from the village to see what all the commotion was about. They couldn't imagine that he would be shouting like that at Kagome.  
  
Bursting into the clearing, Miroku yelled, "Inuyasha, what in seven hells is going on?" The group surveyed the scene before them: Their friend, now incoherent with rage, throwing himself repeatedly at the well, spouting threats all the way, only to be repelled violently by some unseen force. A few disembodied flowers littered the ground.  
  
The angry hanyou gave no answer, or indeed any notice that anyone had come into view. Shippo, however, had awoken to the ear-splitting bellowing, and was currently cowering behind a tree. Upon the arrival of his friends, he bounded out and sought refuge on the monk's shoulder.  
  
"I woke up when he started yelling, and have been watching him ever since. He can't get anywhere near the well ~ let alone go through it!" The kitsune explained. Meanwhile, Inuyasha had decided to try the "sneak- attack" method of foiling the well's refusal to admit him.  
  
The well wasn't fooled.  
  
"Aaaaaaagh! Dammit! What the f#(k is going on here! The bitch sealed the well! I can't believe it." Inuyasha finally sunk to the ground and buried his face in his hands in defeat.  
  
"Good. You would be a fool to believe it." Miroku's temperate voice sounded out over the suddenly silent clearing. He strode over to the well, and not being a demon himself, was able to peer over the edge to see into its depths. Bones, bones, and more bones. Not just the remains of those long gone, but bones that still radiated some sort of malice ~ some kind of evil. Seeing this didn't particularly shock him, but it did make him seriously doubt that this structure would ever be used again for time travel. He shook his head sadly, but decided not to mention his discovery just yet. Waving his hand in a brief blessing, he turned away, back to the small group at gathered there.  
  
Taking notice of is companions for the first time, Inuyasha groused, "What do you mean, Monk? If she didn't do it, who did?"  
  
"I don't know, Inuyasha. But consider a moment. Even if Kagome knew how to put a demon ward on this well or anything else, how would she have been able to do it on this side? She might put one on her side of the well, but she wouldn't put one here. Still, supposing that she could put one on this side, did you see her do it? Shippo was still on the lip of the well when we left the clearing ~ if she had put a ward on the well, he would have been thrown just like you were."  
  
"Ok, you have a point." The Hanyou conceded. "But if she didn't do it, what the hell happened? Why did this thing suddenly stop working?" He got to his feet again and prepared to take a running dash toward the well again, until the houshi swept him with his staff, and saved the well the trouble of again dumping the half-demon on his well-abused backside.  
  
"Inuyasha," Miroku said calmly, "only a fool tries the same thing over and over again and expects to get different results." At his friend's glare, he continued, " I know you are anxious to get to see Kagome again, but this is getting you nowhere. Let us go back to the village and discuss this over dinner."  
  
Being the stubborn, and by now somewhat frantic creature that Inuyasha was, it took some convincing, but finally a couple of hours later, they were all seated around the fire in Kaede's hut, eating their by now late evening meal, and discussing the new problem at hand: Namely, why had the well suddenly ceased to admit the Hanyou, even though he still bore the enchanted rosary, and what be done to open the portal again. And if the time hole was indeed closed forever, how they would be able to find the jewel shards without Kagome's gift of site.  
  
For if they didn't possess the jewel shards, it was a good bet that Naraku would get his slimy hands on them, and that would spell far more trouble for everyone.  
  
At the suggestion that the well might be eternally sealed, Inuyasha abruptly left. That wasn't a subject that he could deal with. He wasn't willing to give up yet. Not by a long shot.  
  
But if by chance......... if the unthinkable happened, and he could no longer get to her ......... Oh, Kami, he just couldn't even consider that. If that were the case......... if that were the case, his life was over. Pointless. Gone would be everything that made life worth living. No, she couldn't be gone for good.  
  
But if she was, he was in for one hell of a long wait. A 500 year wait. And if he had any say about it, if he could survive that long.........he would be waiting for her when she came out on the other side of that cursed well. 


	6. Denial and Anger

Disclaimer: If you love something, set it free. If it comes back to you, it's yours. If not, it never was to begin with. I'm still waiting, but Inuyasha hasn't returned. So, I'll just have to be content with writing about him and his companions. Bummer.  
  
Thank you all for the great reviews. Some of you guys are so funny! Just one note, to Pruningshears ~ good question. I hadn't considered that, really. I guess I'll have to deal with it later, but for right now as you will see in this chapter, the new placement of the portal is integral to the plot.  
  
Much of this chapter might be kind of dull. I apologize for that ~ just bear with me, ok? In case you don't know it, psychology says there are 5 Stages of Grieving or Loss. They are: Denial, Anger, Bargaining, Grief, and Acceptance. Kagome is about to go through all of these to try and deal with the loss of Inuyasha, her friends, and her other life.  
  
Chapter 6  
  
What Love Isn't  
  
The Stages of Grief  
  
***Denial***  
  
When Kagome "landed" in the wellhouse at her family shrine, she didn't climb out immediately, as she ordinarily would have. The enormity of what she had just done had just hit her, and she suddenly felt all the strength drain from her body. She realized that she had just effectively and irrevocably shut a very important chapter in her life without thinking it through. The old proverb floated instantly into her mind:  
  
"Act in Haste; Repent at leisure."  
  
Not that she didn't have a right to feel as she did. Not that she wasn't still angry. Very angry. Not that she had said anything that wasn't true. But she was always accusing Inuyasha of overreacting, and now, without any forethought, she had just completely severed ties with her friends......... not just pals that she hung out with and could make more of ......... No, they were her second family.  
  
No more sisterly solidarity with Sango, no more adoration from her little kit, Shippo, no more......... warped wisdom? from Miroku......... no more grandmotherly mentorship from Kaede......... No more overprotective, possessive, enigmatic, bad tempered .........at times surprisingly sweet, fuzzy eared.........Inuyasha. With those thoughts, her legs gave out from underneath her and she burst into the tears she had held back since her encounter on the other side of time.  
  
Eventually, she began to feel claustrophobic, sitting at the bottom of a dark well shaft, and remembering that it was called the "bone eater's well," she finally found the strength to climb up the ladder. Opening the doors to the old well house, she blinked at the bright light that assaulted her vision. It was actually getting fairly late in the afternoon, and the sun was getting pretty low on the horizon, but to her eyes that had become accustomed to the near blackness of the inside of the well, it might as well have been high noon.  
  
Walking across the courtyard, she had begun to reason with herself. She had left the shards before, and always Inuyasha had eventually given in and come to get her. In her hasty retreat, she hadn't thought to remove his enchanted rosary. Or had that really been intentional on her part? She sighed.  
  
Anyway, surely he would come to get her. She forced herself to smile. Of course he would! She should use this time to her full advantage and get as much of her schoolwork made up as possible, and enjoy going to classes and hanging out with her friends. Absolutely! That is just what she'd do. He'd give her a few days, maybe. A week at the most. So, she'd better get on with it!  
  
Running up to the door, she tried the doorknob, and was surprised to find it locked. Odd. Mom didn't say anything about leaving. Of course, she wasn't really around long enough for her to have said anything. And Sota's mouth was too stuffed with cookies to say much. "Oh, well," she said to no one, " must have gone out for dinner! Maybe they'll bring me some Oden!"  
  
Thoughts of food made her realize she hadn't really eaten since breakfast, save for that one cookie. She decided to grab a snack to tide her over till her family got home. Entering the kitchen, she saw a note and an envelope on the counter.  
  
Kagome,  
  
Hello, Sweetheart. You probably didn't remember this, and we didn't have time to discuss it this morning, but your school just let out for spring holiday yesterday. We have gone to visit Aunt Takako in Kyoto for the two weeks. There is enough money in the envelope for either a train ticket for you to join us, or for you to buy groceries and incidentals while we're gone. I imagine that if you don't come to visit, that you will go back and spend time with Inuyasha and your other friends there, but you should probably try to get some of your schoolwork done as well. You know my phone#, and here is Aunt Takako's number as well. Please call me and let me know what your plans are.  
  
Love, Mom, Grandpa, and Sota.  
  
PS We have engaged the neighbor's daughter, Satsuki, to feed Buyo while we're gone, so if you're going to stay, you should tell her she won't have to do it.  
  
Underneath her mother's smooth script was a much more childish one that said:  
  
Tell Inuyasha hi for me! Sota  
  
Kagome muttered, "Sorry, Little Bro. I don't know if I will be able to deliver that message." She dashed a tear from her eye, and reminded herself sternly that this would blow over and that she needed to use her time to her best advantage. "No more being maudlin! I've got work to do! Guess I'd better call Mom first, though."  
  
The conversation was fairly brief. She told her mother that she would skip the trip this time and try to make up all the work she had missed, after which she would probably be headed back to the Sengoku Jidai. Her mother asked if everything was ok, but Kagome told her she was just really tired, and was going to have a hot bath. Finally, her mother cheerfully told her that she loved her and that she hoped to see her soon, and reminded her to tell the neighbor girl that she wouldn't have to worry about the cat.  
  
"I will, Mom......... I love you, too......... Tell everyone hi for me......... Ok......... Bye!" The line went dead, and Kagome set the phone down on the counter.  
  
Her stomach reminded her that she still had physical matters to attend to, so she opened the refrigerator to see if there was anything there. "Good ol' Mom! She found some noodles with vegetables and chicken in broth. She brewed some tea and heated the noodles, then took it all out to the family room to eat in front of the tv. 'What's the point of sticking to formality when no one else is here?' She didn't want to admit to herself that the house just seemed too empty, and she just wanted some noise.  
  
Flipping around the channels, she couldn't find anything that struck her interest. Having spent so much time in the Feudal Era, she had become a little jaded. So many things seemed pointless, frivolous. A couple of game shows, some insane guy cooking and yelling "Bam!", a couple of unfathomably cheerful people trying to sell a new diet system.........  
  
She looked down at her own figure; skinny by most standards. If she hadn't inherited her mother's curves, she would probably look emaciated. It was hard to imagine getting fat with a regimen like hers. "Hah! Maybe I should market my "system"!" Walk all day, battle and run from demons, live on ramen and whatever Miroku can bilk people out of by making them think their home needs to be exorcized. Guaranteed weight loss, as long as you survive! If not, it won't matter!"  
  
Finally, she found a channel that played Anime. It was still early, so they would probably be showing something light and humorous. The dark, violent stuff was generally on somewhat later at night. Maybe Ranma½ or Marmalade Boy, something like that.  
  
But no. The next images that lit the tv screen were various cartoon hamsters on a bright yellow background, cheerfully singing a peppy song in high, nasal voices. "Hamtaro!" it said across the screen in large orange letters. Now there was one she had never seen. Obviously a children's show. Still, she was tired of channel surfing, and really just wanted to zone out and eat, so she left the channel there.  
  
Half an hour later, she barley registered that she had eaten. Yet she held an empty bowl, and her teacup was also dry. She sniffed and dried the bit of moisture that had gathered in her eyes and frowned. How could she get so involved in a kid's cartoon? But after all, it was kind of sweet ~ the way all the little "Hamhams" worked together to help each other and the girl named "Laura," who had lost her father's computer disc on her way to his office. In the end, the girl never knew how the disc was recovered ~ her dad found it in her back pocket where the little rodents had secretly placed it after retrieving it from a strange poet kind of hamster with a Mohawk. It turned out that "Jingle" (that was the name of the strange hamster) hadn't stolen the disc, just found it and added it to his collection of treasures. So, now they had another "Hamham" friend, even if he didn't join the regular gang.  
  
It kind or reminded her of how she and her friends on the other side of the well worked together to collect shards, protect a village, fight demons, etc. How they made friends along the way. How they each had a job to do.........Or how she used to have a job.........  
  
"Oh, please! Snap out of it! I really need to turn this thing off and get to work."  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
For the next two days, Kagome buried herself in homework, stopping only for to grab something to eat or to sleep. She ignored the phone when it rang, no matter whom the caller ID showed the call to be from. If her mom had called, she would have picked up, but anyone else she just couldn't bring herself to talk to. She told herself she didn't have time to talk because she had to finish her work before Inuyasha came to get her. He would be back any time now, demanding that she come back and finish her job. She didn't even go outside.  
  
And she absolutely refused to look out her bedroom window toward the wellhouse. She would not wait for him like a faithful pet. She had a life, after all, and she had plenty to occupy her time when she wasn't with him. No, no matter how many times she felt her eyes try to roam in that direction, she would not look.  
  
By the morning of the third day, she had completely run out of anything fresh to eat, and realized she was going to have to go shopping or live on instant ramen. She'd done enough of that for the last few years, and besides she had to get out of the house. She was beginning to get cabin fever, and besides, something was really bothering her. It felt like the feeling she got whenever a jewel shard was near, but she knew that couldn't be it. She had left the shards with Shippo. She was just feeling confined. After all, she had become accustomed to spending her days and even nights outdoors, and being shut up indoors for so long now felt confining. And deep down, she knew it had to be that she had been subconsciously been waiting for Inuyasha, and she wasn't ready to admit that she was starting to worry that he wasn't coming. Ever.  
  
No! No way! He would never leave her alone to get on with her life. Not while his precious jewel shards were still in someone else's possession. She needed to stop worrying about it, enjoy her temporary freedom, and get some fresh air. Catching a glimpse of herself in the mirror she gasped, "Eeep! Right after I take a bath!" It had been 2½ days since she had bathed or even brushed her hair, and she was beginning to look like a madwoman.  
  
An hour later, bathed, groomed, and dressed in jeans and a light sweater, Kagome flung open her door to greet the day, only to come face to face with Hojo, arm raised and hand fisted to knock on her door.  
  
"Hojo!"  
  
"Uh, hi, Higurashi! How are you feeling? Are you recovering from that horrible rash that covered your whole body and made your skin peel like a snake? I hope that cream I brought by helped" He peered at her, "It seems to have. I can't even see any scarring!"  
  
'Grandfather! Where does he come up with this stuff?' she fumed. When Hojo stopped prattling, she put on a cheerful smile and said, "Uh, yeah! All gone. Thanks for worrying about me, though! And, uh, for the cream. That was really thoughtful of you."  
  
He blushed a little. "Um, well, I came by to see if you want to join a bunch of us for lunch at WacDonalds. Do you feel up to it? Sorry for such short notice, but I tried to call. We thought you might have gone out of town, to one of those therapeutic health spas or something. But I decided to just come by on the way and check."  
  
'Hmmmm........therapeutic health spa! Sounds really good right now!' She thought dreamily. Ok, right. Back to reality. Her first instinct was to refuse, not wanting to be gone when Inuyasha got back. But then she decided it sounded like fun, and fun was something that was definitely lacking in her life right now. And it wouldn't hurt the impatient dog-boy to wait a little. He had to know that she did have a life outside of shard hunting, and maybe this would help to prove the point.  
  
Besides, as her stomach took the opportunity to point out to her right at that moment, she was hungry. So, stepping out of the front door, she said brightly, "Sure, Hojo, sounds like fun." I was going to go shopping from some groceries and stuff, but it can wait till later!"  
  
Hojo beamed, "That's great! Maybe we can catch a movie or something afterward if you're feeling up to it."  
  
***Anger***  
  
"Yeah, maybe.........," Kagome said, her attention suddenly caught by something colorful laying on the patio near the Goshinboku. It looked to be a bouquet of flowers that had seen better days. Approaching it, she said, "Hojo, did you drop these?"  
  
But even as she said it, she knew that he hadn't. Though battered and withered, she recognized several of these flowers, and she knew they hadn't been seen growing in Japan for a couple centuries at least. She knew that, because she had loved them when she saw them the first time in a field outside Kaede's village ~ so pretty and fragrant. The next time she went home to her time she had looked them up on the internet only to find that they were extinct. She had planned to dig a few up and put them in her mother's garden, but she was a little afraid of what would happen if some horticulturist came along and discovered them.  
  
As if that weren't evidence enough, she fingered the ribbon that bound the flowers and knew it to be one that Miroku had acquired as partial payment for one of his demon exorcisms. He had offered it to Sango, to tie her hair back with. She had refused because she didn't want him thinking that he could take liberties with his hands if she accepted the gift. She sighed. Yes, she wouldn't forget that ribbon ~ so pretty and fine; hand woven from the finest silk.  
  
Hojo examined the bouquet, too. "No, I didn't. It looks like they've been here for awhile. Someone must have left them as an offering to the God Tree. This is the first time you've seen them?"  
  
Kagome didn't answer. She really didn't even hear him, so lost was she in thoughts of what the flowers might mean. Was this Inuyasha's farewell gift? He just came to her time and tossed a bouquet of flowers under the place they first met, then left without even saying goodbye? Was he in that big of a rush to get rid of her? She supposed Kikyo was waiting for him, and he was in a hurry. He must have gathered the flowers in an effort to at least acknowledge that she had been useful to him, but that she was no longer needed. ".........a tool to be exploited and then disposed of when your usefulness is no longer needed or desired." Her own words came back to her. So, she had been right after all.  
  
'So, he's not coming back to get me after all.' A thought suddenly occurred to her; that maybe he had put her shards in with the flowers in hopes that she would come back herself. She quickly untied the bouquet and shook the flowers, digging carefully through the foliage. But, of course, she knew they weren't there ~ she would have sensed them.  
  
No, the flowers were just what they were ~ his way of saying, "So long and thanks for all the Ramen." More tears of hurt and anger sprang to her eyes, and she almost let her legs buckle underneath her so that she could finally allow herself the good, cathartic cry that she so badly needed.  
  
Too bad for Kagome that she was not alone to do so. Too bad for an unfortunate thief as well.........  
  
"Higurashi, are you ok?" Hojo's tentative voice startled her out of her reflections. "We can do it another time if you like........."  
  
"No, it's ok. These just reminded me of something." She smiled brightly at him. 'I don't know why he keeps asking me out. He must think I'm a major head case.'  
  
"What did they remind you of?"  
  
Forcing the smile to stay fixed on her lips, Kagome answered determinedly, "That I need to get a life. Let's go." She dropped the flowers to the pavement, and looped her arm through Hojo's, refusing to look back.  
  
She ignored the odd feeling she had had since walking out the door; the feeling that that tree was staring at her.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
She tried. She really did. If she really was done with the quest, she was going to have to get on with putting her life in the present back together. Hojo wasn't Inuyasha, and never would be, but he was a place to start. So she tried her best to be conversational, as they walked down the long flight of shrine steps and down to Hojo's waiting car.  
  
It seemed stupid to drive such a short distance. They used to walk all the time, and for someone used to trekking all day, nearly every day, downtown was just a short stroll. But she supposed Hojo wanted to show off his new Celica, so she said nothing about it. She tried hard not to think about the flowers, and to be fun and attentive, but she couldn't help the anger that was bubbling below the surface of her frail composure. She just wanted to scream, to hit something, to hit someone! Some kind of outlet for her anger and frustration! She felt so helpless to do anything ~ by leaving those shards, she had given up all control in this situation.  
  
'But what a jerk!' she fumed. 'I mean, he couldn't have at least brought me the flowers in person? He couldn't have taken one minute to say goodbye? I mean, it's not like I went anywhere! I was holed in that house for 2½ days! And that's all I get for three years of throwing my life away to help him? Just a lousy bunch of dead flowers? I mean, I know it was my responsibility to put the jewel back together, but after all we went through together, I thought I meant more to him than that. I thought......... I thought we were........ at least friends.  
  
She shook her head to try and clear it. 'SNAP OUT OF IT! IT'S OVER! MOVING ON!'  
  
They found a parking space a couple of blocks away from the restaurant, and Hojo fed the meter some coins. Smiling brightly at her, he offered her his arm. She smiled back, and going through the motions of a date, slipped her hand through his arm as they started down the sidewalk.  
  
They had only taken a couple of steps when, unwittingly, Kagome's outlet appeared. She suddenly felt a pull from behind, and then someone holding her in place with the feel of something cold against her neck. A surly voice came from behind her, and was directed at Hojo, "Pretty little thing you have here, punk! It'd be a shame if I had to cut her, huh?" A low, lascivious chuckle made Kagome's stomach turn. "Hand over your keys and your wallet, and you can have her back."  
  
Hojo just stood there, gaping. "Uh, ok.........ok...........just don't hurt her, ok? Here, I'm reaching for my wallet. Ok......... Here.......Now let her go. Please." He tossed the requested items at the thief.  
  
Kagome found herself being disgusted by the whole matter. On top of the fact that the thief who now held her captive seemed to have taken a bath in his cologne to (unsuccessfully) disguise the intense stench of his body odor, he was also fairly small and skinny. At least compared to those who usually used her to coerce something out of her friends. She knew that Hojo was just trying to get her safely away from the creep, but come on! What a wimp!  
  
But it was when the creep decided he hadn't gotten enough that she really snapped. He chuckled in a low, oily manner, "Hmmmm. Maybe I'm not done with her yet. Maybe she'd like to find out what it's like to be with a real man." He pulled her roughly against his body and thrust his hips forward into her bottom.  
  
"You jerk! Like you're the one to show that to me!" Kagome screeched, as she stomped as hard as she could, she bringing her foot down on his instep, followed by the sharp crack of breaking bone. Completely caught off guard, the thief yelped in pain. Kagome took advantage of his alarm to free her captive arm, and along with her other hand reached up to grab the arm holding the knife. She brought it down sharply, twisting outward, causing him to release the weapon.  
  
The guy recovered slightly to realize what had happened, and he was pissed. He growled, "Why, you little bitch! You broke my foot! I'm gonna..."  
  
But Kagome just laughed maliciously, "Keh! I deal with scarier things than you before breakfast!" adding under her breath, "You try telling a cranky half-dog-demon that you're out of ramen!" She drove the point of her elbow into his stomach, and as he cried out in pain, she turned and drove the heel of her palm upward into his nose and brought her other fist to his groin. He crumpled to the ground, and Kagome stepped on his neck to make sure he didn't get up again. "That's what you get for trying to take advantage of HELPLESS, innocent girls! JERK!"  
  
It all happened too fast for Hojo to register what had happened. All he could clearly recall was Kagome disarming the guy, and then the guy curled up in a heap on the ground, clutching his groin with one hand and holding his copiously bleeding nose with the other.  
  
"Higurashi........."  
  
"Keh! Quit gaping and call the cops, will you!" she said crossly. 'Geez, did I really say that?'  
  
Even as she spoke, her friends came running up with a policeman in tow. "Wow, Kagome, that was amazing!" "I want to work with your physical therapist!" "That was awesome!"  
  
The policeman seemed confused, "Just what happened here?"  
  
The thief groaned weakly, "She hurt me!"  
  
Kagome kicked him sharply in the ribs, "Shut up, jerk. If you hadn't attacked us, you slimy creep, you wouldn't be like this, would you?"  
  
Meanwhile, Hojo did his best to explain, and showed the policeman the abandoned weapon. The cop chuckled lightly and smirked down at the thief, "Well now, would you like to come with me quietly, or would you like me to let this young lady finish you off?"  
  
The thief immediately offered up his wrists to the police, who cuffed him and hauled him off to his waiting squad car, after radioing that back-up would not be necessary. After settling his capture into the back seat, he turned back to the gathered crowd and addressed Kagome and Hojo, "I'll be needing a statement from the two of you."  
  
Hojo asked if they could eat first, and was given permission. Word of the incident had already made it to Wacdonalds, who insisted on feeding Kagome and her whole group of friends anything they wanted "on the house."  
  
The whole group sat around an enormous pile of cheeseburgers and fries, each sipping a giant soda, talking excitedly about what had just happened. The girls all wanted Kagome to give them self-defense lessons, and the guys chided Hojo about letting his girlfriend do the fighting for him.  
  
No one seemed to notice that even though she was the main topic of conversation at the table, Kagome herself was silent. In fact, she deep in thought, wondering when she had started to act like Inuyasha, and if she needed to seek anger management therapy. 


End file.
